China: Political scandal and instability

Bo Xilai

A significant public scandal is happening in China:

April 11, 2012

China Lashes Out at Disgraced Politician

Stephanie Ho | Beijing

China’s worst political scandal in decades dominated newspaper front pages in the Chinese capital Wednesday: a high ranking politician suspended from his key central party post and his wife suspected in the death of a British businessman.

The articles say Bo Xilai’s conduct has seriously violated the party’s disciplinary rules and has badly harmed the image of the party and country…

Bo is a former commerce minister and most recently was the party secretary of Chongqing, a huge city in southwestern China. He is the son of a famous revolutionary and was widely expected to eventually join the top echelons of Communist party in an important party conference later this year.

One of the final nails on his political coffin came late Tuesday night, in a brief dispatch from the state-run Xinhua News Agency that said Bo was being suspended from his membership in the party’s central committee. Another report announced that Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood last year.

Scandal, a reflection of party infighting?

Veteran writer Dai Qing, who closely follows Chinese politics, likens the unfolding events to a stage play – in which the audience watches, but cannot affect the outcome.

She says the latest political scandal illustrates a high-level and internal fight within the Communist party. She says most Chinese people have no say in matters and can only watch from the sidelines.

Xinhua says Gu and Heywood had business dealings, but they had a conflict about economic interests that had intensified. Heywood’s death in Chongqing in November was not considered suspicious at the time, but police are now re-opening the case.

Dai says, if Gu committed murder or if Bo was indeed some sort of accomplice, then officials have to show proof of wrongdoing.

Dai says she is absolutely sure that Gu will receive a stiff sentence. She says she believes this is because it is, in her words, “the least damaging outcome for the party.”

She adds that the Chinese Communist party wants to present a united front before a major meeting this fall. The session which takes place once every five years, is significant because the party will name the country’s new top leaders…

Michael Anti, a political columnist and blogger…agrees that the scandal is indicative of a high-level power struggle. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Key-Chinese-Official-Removed-for-Scandal-146962025.html

There have been numerous rumors/reports this year that China has had attempted coups to change the leadership there. And that is one of the reasons that Chinese government takes steps to restrict internet content: it does not want a lot of people to think that there are big problems as it hopes to not have vast segments of the population rise up and overthrow the government.

While China has grow tremendously economically, one of the things that most Westerners do not realize is that China has a system that prevents its citizens from agrarian areas from having the same rights as those in urban areas. Even people who move from agrarian regions to the cities, still are registered as agrarian and do not get the same rights or even education for their children. This disparity, combined with severe pollution, corruption, and a host of other problems, will affect China more than most realize. And, of course, individual politicians have their own personal interests in mind. And a combination of rural disappointment and political miscalculations could greatly affect China.

Notice what RC Meredith of the Living Church of God wrote related to China and its future:

Many publications have suggested that the 21st century will be “China’s century.” Even though the Chinese are fiercely moving forward, and their progress in developing their industries is obvious, these publications are dead wrong for two reasons. First, the inspired word of God describes specifically how a coming European Union will be the dominant force in this world—obviously within the next several years. Therefore, brethren, I would like to focus your mind on this matter so you can more intelligently “watch” world events along this line as they unfold before your very eyes. In the coming years, you will perhaps even see a revolt of the peasants in the outlying Chinese cities, who have lagged far behind the standard of living afforded those who have moved to Beijing and Shanghai. Plus, the tremendous pollution of the water, air and foodstuffs may bring about massive disease epidemics and other problems for the Chinese.

In addition, distracting wars and other events may— as God chooses to guide it—greatly undermine the material progress now being made by the Chinese. Meanwhile, you will soon see the European Union evolve into an absolutely powerful and dynamic force in the world— ultimately to become the “Beast” as revealed in Revelation 17 in your own Bible!

So the 21st century will not be the “Chinese century!” Rather it will appear to become the European century for a few years, until the magnificent return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. From then on, the 21st century will be, indeed, “Christ’s century!” And all of us who are able to understand the “Big Picture” of world events from God’s point of view should be preparing to help straighten out the appalling degree of suffering, starvation and misconduct we find on this earth today in virtually every nation (Meredith R.C. An Inspiring and Successful Trip. Living Church News. May-June 2007, p. 21).

China will not be the great power of the 21st century. Beset by increasing financial and social problems, Chinese influence will wane and a German-led “European Empire” will surge to the fore in world affairs. (Meredith RC. What is Just Ahead for You? Tomorrow’s World magazine, Sept-Oct 2011, p. 5)

China is beginning to show some of its problems despite the government’s attempts to keep such matters internal. Other problems are expected.

And even though China will have some prominence in the end times (and will fairly certainly be one of the “kings of the east” of Revelation 16:12 and provide many soldiers in the 200,000,000 man army of Revelation 9:13-21), it will not end up as the top economic force in the 21st century. Europe will.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? Is it a “King of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe?